Uncovered Documents Prompt GOP to Solicit Warren’s Communications on Mortgage Talks

June 20, 2011

In light of newly surfaced e-mails, House Republicans plan to press Consumer Financial Protection Bureau leader Elizabeth Warren for more information regarding her involvement in the federal and state foreclosure alleging improprieties by mortgage workers.

Bloomberg reports House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) is coordinating the lawmakers who will write a letter to request copies of “any and all” communications dating back to September 2010 between Warren and the offices of any state attorneys general.

“It appears the CFPB has been deeply involved in the mortgage-servicing settlement negotiations and that role goes far beyond the mere offering of ‘advice’ under the Merriam- Webster’s definition or any other reasonable interpretation of that term,” states an early version of the letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

The letter comes after e-mails regarding the CFPB’s meetings on the mortgage settlements were made public after a request from Judicial Watch, an independent organization calling itself a “conservative, non-partisan educational foundation.” (Read more)

“The e-mails, which the group made public last week, show that representatives from state attorneys general offices scheduled time to hear a consumer bureau presentation stating that a $5 billion settlement with banks like JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) would be ‘too low’” reports Bloomberg. “’The agency wanted the offices to “stress the confidential nature of the briefing,’ one of the e-mails said. The e-mails also discuss a presentation from Warren on the bureau’s views of loan modifications.”

Representatives planning to sign the letter include Randy Neugebauer (R-TX), the chairman of the Financial Services investigations subcommittee, and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), the chairwoman of the financial institutions subcommittee, according to their spokespeople.

GOP lawmakers and Warren for months now have been debating the proper extent of the CFPB’s powers. Warren is once again scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill on July 14.


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